curved bodies organize sequence of gardens in spanish home by fran silvestre arquitectos

fran silvestre shapes a landscape-driven house in Spain

Fran Silvestre Arquitectos completes Villa Lago in La Moraleja, a residential district on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain. The architects conceive this 1,106-square-meter single-family home as a continuous spatial negotiation between architecture and garden.

The house abandons a singular, compact volume in favor of an ascending, stepped composition that stretches outward, maximizing its perimeter of contact with the surrounding greenery and reshaping domestic life around a sequence of open-air spaces. This layout evokes the logic of works by Spanish sculptor Andreu Alfaro, where form appears both deliberate and incidental. While the structure is geometrically precise, the team aims for an effect that feels organic, almost as if the building had settled naturally into the terrain.

In Villa Lago, the house is formed by a series of longitudinal, gently curved bodies that run through the site. These elements are arranged to optimize movement and sightlines, generating five distinct garden spaces, almost open courtyards, each with its own atmosphere. These exterior rooms structure daily life and allow the landscape to remain an active presence throughout the house.

all images by Fernando Guerra

Villa Lago reinterprets the pavilion and courtyard archetypes

Villa Lago draws from the pavilion and the courtyard, two long-standing architectural archetypes. The pavilion appears here as an open, centrifugal system that pushes outward, while the courtyard reemerges as a more protected yet still open-air condition. The architects reference elongated-plan works by Glenn Murcutt and Stéphane Beel as key influences, particularly in their treatment of circulation and continuity.

The program follows the ascending logic of the project. On the lower level, the swimming pool and guest rooms connect directly to the garden. Above them, the main living areas are oriented toward a nearby lake, anchoring daily life to a distant horizon. The highest level contains the private night spaces, gathered into a single linear volume that bridges across the site. Beneath this elevated piece, a wide shaded terrace is formed, reinforcing the interplay between enclosure and openness. At the convergence of these volumes, a central communication core organizes movement between levels and reinforces the idea of continuity between architecture and terrain.

At its core, the project is driven by a fundamental architectural principle: proportion. The Valencia-based architects describe the house as being calibrated through the careful adjustment of widths and distances, allowing spatial relationships to emerge through measured restraint rather than formal excess. 

the gently curved bodies trace a stepped sequence across the garden

the residence unfolds as a series of elongated forms

the swimming pool aligns with the lower level

curved facades guide movement while maintaining visual continuity across the site

large openings dissolve boundaries between interior rooms and the surrounding landscape

the elevated volume forms a shaded terrace beneath

outdoor circulation routes carve through the site

the stepped organization allows light and air to filter through the different levels

the upper-level volume frames views while hovering above the terrace below

interior spaces remain visually connected to the garden through full-height glazing

a deep-set opening frames the terrace, reinforcing the house’s pavilion-like quality

the elongated facade traces the curvature of the site

warm interior light reveals the stepped organization of the house as the volumes settle into the sloping garden

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exterior terraces become intermediary spaces between architecture and landscape

interior rooms remain visually connected to the surrounding greenery through continuous glazing

the upper terrace becomes an intermediary space between interior rooms and the open landscape

the elevated volume forms a sheltered outdoor room beneath its overhang

the facade composition expresses the project’s ascending organization

a deep-set opening frames the terrace

circulation unfolds along the glazed edge, keeping the landscape in constant view

long horizontal openings reinforce the project’s emphasis on continuity

warm interior light reveals the stepped volumes as they settle into the sloping garden

roof plan | all drawings by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos

first floor

ground floor

basement floor

longitudinal section

cross section

north elevation

southwest elevation

project info:

name: Villa Lago

architect: Fran Silvestre Arquitectos | @fransilvestrearquitectos

location: La Moraleja, Madrid, Spain

built area: 1,106 square meters

plot area: 3,066 square meters

principal in charge: Fran Silvestre

project team: María Masià, Estefania Soriano, Carlos Lucas

interior design: Alfaro Hofmann

developer: 37 Threeseven

technical architects: Jorge Carrión Ponce, José Miguel Cota San Andrés

structural engineer: Estructuras Singulares

general contractor: Project Work

collaborators: Pablo Camarasa, Ricardo Candela, Sevak Asatrián, Javi Herrero, Facundo Castro, Anna Alfanjarín, Laura Bueno, Toni Cremades, Susana León, David Cirocchi, Neus Roso, Nuria Doménech, Andrea Raga, Olga Martín, Víctor González, Pepe Llop, Alberto Bianchi, Andrea Blasco, Laura Palacio, Carlos Perez, Jovita Cortijo, Claudia Escorcia, Diana Murcia, Olga Fernández, Daniel Fenollosa, Andrés Marín, Álvaro Navarro, Diana Chilingaryan, Maria Barberá, Roberto Marañón

financial & management team: Ana de Pablo, Sara Atienza, Valeria Fernandini, José María Ibañez, Andrea Álvarez, Néstor Bolinches

photographer: Fernando Guerra | @fernandogguerra

video: Jesús Orrico | @jesusorrico